Buying a SIM Card or eSIM for Travel in Albania

Albania isn’t the first country that comes to mind when thinking of popular European destinations. So why go there? A whole lot of reasons!

It’s a compact country, meaning driving distances aren’t long, but it’s super-diverse, with everything from historic cities to towering mountains and beautiful beaches. Also, because it’s so central (just north of Greece, south of Montenegro, and east of Italy), it makes a great base for exploring much of Europe when you’re done.

Americans can stay for up to a year without a visa (many others get 90 days on arrival), and even though it’s more expensive than it used to be, the US dollar still stretches a long way.

We’ve taken two different trips to Albania, first spending several weeks in Tirana, the largest city, and then a second visit taking in a loop of the southern half of the country.

I only have good things to say about my time here, whether I’ve been enjoying the great food and drink scene in the capital, exploring the beautiful castles and old towns of Berat and Gjirokaster, or working on my tan alongside the beautiful turquoise waters of the Albanian Riveria.

Speaking of only having good things to say, the same goes for connectivity. Most places I’ve stayed have had fast, reliable Wi-Fi, local SIM cards with large data plans are easy to come by, and travel eSIMs provide a super-easy, low-cost way of getting mobile data as soon as you arrive.

Prior to my first trip, I did plenty of reading about the mobile carriers in Albania. It didn’t take long then, and takes even less time now: after mergers and shutdowns, there are only two left in 2025!

• Vodafone is the largest, most popular, and generally most-expensive player in the market. It has good 4G coverage in Tirana and most other towns and cities, plus along the highways and main roads between them.
• One (formerly Telekom Albania) tends to be a little cheaper than Vodafone, with slightly better speeds and slightly worse coverage.

Some of the articles I read online were quite dated, so I did what I always do: ask locals what they use and why.

My cab driver (there’s no Uber here) used One because of the price. He had no complaints about the service, but he never leaves the big city. My Airbnb host used Vodafone because it’s the oldest, and had always been reliable for him in and out of Tirana.

Lastly, a guy I met in a coworking space recommended Vodafone over One because he’s had better experiences using his phone as a hotspot with Vodafone whenever his wired internet flakes out.

Armed with this info the decision was clear. Unless I was hit with sticker shock, I was going with Vodafone.

Because I was only in the country for a couple of weeks on my most recent trip, I took my usual approach these days and picked up a travel eSIM instead. I’m glad I did, as my flight was delayed and I didn’t end up landing at Tirana airport until late at night.

Being able to waltz past the airport booths and touts and head straight to my accommodation saved a bunch of time, and as it turned out, saved a bunch of money as well.

The packages usually work out a bit more expensive per gigabyte than buying a physical local SIM, but that only matters if you expect to use most or all of the data you’re buying.

If, like me, you don’t use a lot of data, you can get a useful amount for just a few dollars. On the flipside, Holafly also has an eSIM for Albania that includes unlimited data, customizable for the exact length of your trip. Either way, it’ll be working before you get off the plane.

I started out with an Airalo eSIM, and in the interests of updating this article, later bought and used one from aloSIM as well. These are the two eSIM companies I use the most on my travels, and both had good download speeds and reliable service on the Vodafone network everywhere I went.

Because aloSIM had faster uploads and lower ping times than Airalo, it was my preferred option for video calling. I tested that on a birthday chat with my family back in Australia as I sat in a square in downtown Tirana: sure enough, I had a better connection with the former.

Given that, and the near-identical prices, I’d recommend aloSIM over Airalo for Albania. That said, if you’re traveling elsewhere in Europe, Airalo is the only one with a regional bundle for Europe that includes both the EU and Albania.

I’ve included all the options below and update them each week, most recently on 1 Dec 2025.

Like most travel eSIMs, they’re data-only: you don’t get a local number. I use apps for everything from communication to transport these days, so the lack of a local number very rarely matters to me, but you might have different needs.

New to eSIMs? They offer big benefits to travelers in terms of how quickly, easily, and (often) cheaply you can get connected when you arrive in a new country. Most recent phones support them, and you can read all about them here.

If you’re visiting other countries as well, make sure you check out our worldwide eSIM finder before you go. It has real-world recommendations for every trip, only takes a few seconds, and could save you a lot of money!

If you’re staying longer than a month, or just prefer/require a physical SIM, finding a Vodafone shop (or indeed, a One store) isn’t hard. They are everywhere in Albania, including just outside of baggage claim at the airport.

Since I did my final research outside of the airport, however, I ended up buying my SIM card in town. A quick look on Google Maps showed almost two dozen shops in the city center, but there are loads more not on the map.

I walked into the store nearest to my Airbnb in the popular Blloku neighborhood. Both people working there spoke enough English and had some signage that helped to seal the deal.

Vodafone

Vodafone offers daily, weekly, and monthly prepaid plans in several different flavors.

There’s a useful tourist SIM with two options: 40GB of data for 2000 Lekë (~$22) or a three-week plan with 100GB of data for 2500 Lekë (~$28). Both have unlimited domestic minutes and last three weeks. Those prices are the downtown rate: you’ll pay a few dollars more if you buy at the airport.

The Vodafone Next Advance plan offers a solid mix for those staying longer in the country, with 2000 domestic texts and calling minutes, and 10GB of data. It lasts for 30 days and costs 1400 Lekë (~15).

Several other weekly and monthly packs are also available, and may suit you better if you’re only in the country for a short time or expect to use more or less data.

Offerings change regularly in response to competition, but that said, plans from the previous month were still being shown in store, and the differences were negligible.

I’m also a happy customer of Google Fi (the company’s awesome cell service), but when I reviewed the prices at Vodafone, it was a no-brainer. I could get much more data for the same cost as Fi, plus a local Albanian number, and likely better LTE coverage. Decision made.

The setup and checkout process at the Vodafone store was painless. The SIM card was free, and I even got to pick my phone number. They handed me a stack of new, sealed SIM card packs, each with a sticker with the corresponding number attached, to choose between.

I needed my passport, as a US driver’s license or Global Entry ID card wouldn’t suffice. I also had to sign a piece of paper from the carrier, written in Albanian.

After asking the staff for help with translation, I learned it basically said I wouldn’t use the service in an illegal manner or attempt to resell it. I also had to pay cash, as credit cards weren’t accepted at the store I went to. That’s not rare: cash is king in Albania!

Kiosks are available in each store for topping up, and you can also use them to add incremental voice/text/data if you run out before your package expires. As I mentioned, you’ll very rarely be far from a Vodafone store unless you’re really in the middle of nowhere.

Coverage and speeds have been very impressive. I wandered and jogged all over Tirana, and whether deep in downtown or in the middle of the biggest park (which is large and very nice), I always had blazingly-fast LTE coverage with Vodafone.

The only exception to date has been when I’ve been in buildings with thick stone walls, or in the lower levels of shopping malls and business buildings, which I’d expect.

When it comes to eSIMs, as I mentioned earlier, I had no problem with either aloSIM or Airalo anywhere I went in the southern half of the country.

They both also use the Vodafone network, so you can expect exactly the same coverage with them as with the physical SIM. Speeds were a little lower, but not by much, and certainly not enough to make any difference in daily use.

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Check out our guides to SIM cards and eSIMs in 65+ other countries here.